Recent shootings in California underscore the need for action on this public health crisis

Boston (November 22, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today led 23 of his Senate colleagues in calling on leaders of the Appropriations Committee to include $50 million in funding for gun violence prevention research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the letter, the Senators point to the string of mass shootings that have occurred since they last wrote to urge funding for this vital research. Senator Markey and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) have introduced legislation to provide $50 million in funding for the CDC to conduct or support research on firearms safety and gun violence prevention.

“We should embrace our responsibility to enact evidence-based solutions to the epidemic of gun violence,” write the Senators in their letter. “While limited research exists, policymakers, healthcare practitioners, and researchers lack comprehensive scientific information about the causes and characteristics of gun violence, which could inform the development of strategies to thwart future tragedies. This appropriations request will allow federally-funded public health researchers to revive a dormant field of study.”

A copy of the letter can be found HERE. 

Also signing the letter are Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Angus King (I-Maine), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

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